Under some of the climate videos that researchers found - some with ads and some without - YouTube had a “context” box with authoritative information, signaling that it knew the videos featured false or at least disputed claims.

Google’s policy applies to content that refers to climate change as a hoax or a scam, denies the long-term trend that the climate is warming, or denies that greenhouse gas emissions or human activity are contributing to climate change. In 2021, when the company changed its rules on climate change, it said that advertisers and publishing partners had grown increasingly uncomfortable appearing alongside inaccurate climate content. In recent years, the platform clamped down on the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and false claims about vaccines. He added that YouTube removed ads from several videos that the researchers flagged, including the one that promoted “80 for Brady.”Īs misinformation has grown into a greater scourge online, YouTube has tried to balance its desire to be an open platform for diverse views with an interest in serving users proven facts on important topics. That’s why we welcome feedback from third parties when they think we’ve missed something.” Aciman said that while “we enforce this policy rigorously, our enforcement is not always perfect, and we are constantly working to improve our systems to better detect and remove policy violating content. Michael Aciman, a YouTube spokesman, said in a statement that the company allowed “policy debate or discussions of climate-related initiatives, but when content crosses the line to climate change denial, we remove ads from serving on those videos.” A Grubhub spokeswoman said that the company was working with YouTube and other partners to “prevent Grubhub ads from appearing alongside content that promotes misinformation.” Fonda said.Īds for Grubhub, the food-delivery service, appeared before climate-denial videos numerous times, The New York Times found. “I am appalled that an ad for one of my movies appears on one of those videos, and hope YouTube stops this practice immediately,” Ms.

Lies by Michael Grant